College wasn’t as fun as everyone made it sound, or maybe it was just community college that killed students slowly. You sighed heavily thinking bitterly that maybe it was just your life the sucked and not school. Lying in your bed you dreaded getting up and going to class, something in the back of your mind was nagging at you. As if subconsciously your mind was warning you, trying to convince you to stay under the safety of your covers. Ignoring the feeling, you let out an irritated groan rolling out of bed. Walking into the kitchen your roommate Sam smiled at your miserable expression. You growled at her, pouring some milk into a bowl before taking the box of Fruit loops from her. She shook her head chuckling.
“Damn, who pissed in your Cheery-O’s, Claudia?”
“No one,” you chuckled.
A small smile pulled at the corner of your lips before quickly fading. Your mind was elsewhere; on that feeling of dread.
“Right,” Sam replied sarcastically.
“This wouldn’t have anything to do with your old high school sweet-heart, Alex, coming back to town, now would it,” she asked with a raised eyebrow and amusement dancing in her eyes.
“Psh, yeah right,” you lied.
“Bullshit,” she said rolling her eyes.
“He left two years ago, you need to move on girl,” she told you honestly.
You didn’t argue since you knew she was right; somehow though, you just couldn’t let go. Alex had been so much more than just some sweet-heart. He was perfection, beautiful, smart, funny… Oh God, you thought mentally slapping yourself for letting your mind wander like that. You shook your head trying desperately to shake the thought of him from your mind. However, you knew it was useless all your fondest memories had Alex in them. From the first time you had met him a the local park when you were just five and he was six he had been a permanent fixture in your life, until he left that is.
Walking back to your room instead of getting dressed for class, you dropped to your knees digging under your bed. It took you a minute to find it but soon you pulled the tattered scrap book from its tomb, under your bed. You and Alex had put it together filling it with pictures and comments. Once you got comfortable on the floor with the book in your lap, you hesitated, knowing that it would hurt to go through all the memories; however, you opened the book anyway.
The first page had two lone pictures. A young girl you barely remembered and a young boy you could never forget were setting on a swing set. You remembered the day fondly; it was the day you and Alex met. His mother had taken the picture so long ago. Next to the picture in Alex’s messy hand writing it read, “The beginning of forever.” To bad he had lied about forever.
You skipped a few pages till you found the pictures of the two of you dancing in the rain. You loved the way Alex’s hair clung to his forehead in dark brown chunks. He was eleven and you were ten. By one of the pictures Alex had written, “I hope the rain always makes you smile,” it did.
Turning more pages you stopped when you got to a picture of you, Alex, Jack, Zack and Rian. You smiled as you looked at Jack’s handwriting reading the words he had written years ago, when all of you were in high school. “Friends forever… P.s. How do you put up with Alex?” You remembered that day clearly it was after an All Time Low show, back when they were still just a local band and you and Alex were dating. To bad Jack lied too.
You skipped to the last page that had pictures. It was the day the guys left for tour; they had driven the van to your house the night before and spent the night. Your eyes swelled with tears. Alex had promised to keep in touch but hadn’t kept his word. Tracing the hearts surrounding a picture of you and Alex kissing, the tears started to fall. That had been the last time the two of you kissed. You couldn’t take it you slammed the book shut.
